Defying Heaven
by Ina-chan
Summary: A 3part perspective on an incident in Yuki's childhood.
1. God's Will

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket belongs to Takaya Natsuki-sensei and Hana to Yume comics. This fic is done only for the glorification of Furuba! Random spoilers for Fruits Basket manga beware! I'm basing this fic on the manga, so there will be some time inconsistencies in according to the anime. I'll explain in my notes at the end of the fic.  
  
December 25, 2001  
  
Defying Heaven  
  
1st Perception: God's Will  
  
By Ina-chan  
  
He watched the clear liquid flow freely down the washbasin as it escaped the confines of the faucet. It was a normal habit and necessity to wash one's hands. to let the fresh cleansing water run through your soapy hands and let it snatch the dirt away. For him, it was as natural as breathing. almost comforting. Except on days like today.  
  
Most especially on days like today.  
  
["Hattori," Shigure's voice filtered quietly through his door.  
  
Normally he would simply ignore the voice, do about his business until the owner gave up and went away. But normally, Shigure doesn't call him by his proper name. Or speak with that uncharacteristic trace of grave urgency.  
  
"Hattori," Shigure repeated, "There's been an 'accident'."  
  
The young man waited for that familiar feeling of dread to pass over him, before answering, "Who is it?"  
  
"Yuki."  
  
The young man closed his eyes and ran his hands tiredly over his face, "Tell Akito that I'll be on my way."]  
  
It seems like on days like today, dirt seemed to cling with more resilience on his hands. No matter how hard he scrubbed, no matter how much his hands turned raw, no matter how much it stung. the dirt won't go away. He felt it underneath his fingernails, and swiftly crawling over his skin. With atypical force, he tugged at his clothes and almost desperately brought handfuls of the resilient cleansing liquid to counter the unpleasant sensation quickly making its way to his face.  
  
["This bird." Akito's soft voice filtered almost inaudibly, as he gently caressed the tame animal perched inside the open cage, ".no matter how many times I let it out to fly, it always comes back to me and sits contentedly in its cage. Do you know why?"  
  
The young man simply replied with silence. He was a man of few words, and normally had no patience for people who talked around in circles. However, he knew of the task that was ahead of him, and was thankful of any short amount of time that may delay it.  
  
"It's because." The Head of the House continued as he closed the cage with great care, ".it knows how fragile it is... how weak it has become. and this cage is its only protection from the cruelties of the outside world." Akito slowly made his way to face his kneeling companion, "As the Head of the House of the Souma Family, I have a responsibility to protect our vulnerable."  
  
Hattori found his gaze unconsciously wandering to the hallway behind a certain wall, which led to a certain small dark room. A sharp pang of guilt flashed through him, as he is reminded of who was being punished in that room at that moment, and knowing his indirect responsibility.  
  
"Hattori, I'm afraid I must ask you again." The younger boy knelt down before him and leaned closer to whisper almost breathlessly in his hear, ".do it for the Souma Family. for Yuki."  
  
The young man closed his eyes as he willed himself not to instinctively shrink away as he felt death-cold fingers lightly stroke his cheek in a soft caress.  
  
".for me."]  
  
He had done it many times in the past. He did it without question or hesitation, at the whim of his father's request or by the Head of the House's order. But still, when days like today happen. When he was forced to erase all traces of the laughter from a group of children at play. When he was forced to erase the miniscule traces of genuine happiness from one child's face. he is reminded of how cruel a dragon has to be, in order to protect the treasure entrusted to him. How dragons crawl on earth, mud, and ash. How dirt clings to their skin, and no matter how hard he scrubbed or how much water he washed himself... the damning dirt will never go away.  
  
The faint coughing across the room snapped the young man back to reality. He quickly dried himself and gave back his full attention to his patient, recovering on the futon. Somehow, he always found himself in these situations as well... automatically coming to the aid of an ailing family member. A pair of intense purple eyes opened, highly contrasting against the small snow-white pallid delicate face that held them.  
  
"You had a very bad attack," Hattori stated the obvious, "How are you feeling now?"  
  
"I can't breathe," Yuki replied, almost inaudibly, if not for the silence of the room  
  
"I'll get your medicine," Hattori stated as he started to get up on his feet, only to freeze as a small hand clung tightly to the hem of his school uniform. He looked questioningly back at the boy, but the child simply held on tightly as if his life depended on it, refusing to meet his gaze.  
  
"I can't breathe." The child stated again as he gripped his older cousin's knee and violent sobs wracked through his tiny body  
  
"I'm sorry," Hattori whispered as he placed a comforting hand on the little boy's head and quietly gazed at a nonspecific point across the room, digesting the child's weighted words in his mind. Though it was expected from The Mouse to be highly intelligent and gifted, it still never failed to amaze him to hear simple but profound words from this boy. Once again, that earlier pang of guilt seared painfully through his body.  
  
The Head of the House clearly refused permission for the sickly child to leave the immediate grounds without supervision. But Hattori knew that Yuki had made some friends from the outside, and was secretly sneaking out to play with them in one of the secluded gardens. He turned a blind eye to it, upon seeing his cousin improve. Until recently, the asthma attacks that almost consistently ravaged his younger cousin's fragile body ceased to almost a complete halt. In turn, he also turned a blind eye to the inevitable consequences. His act may have cost his cousin much more.  
  
"In order to breathe freely," Hattori stated quietly, "You have to grow stronger, Yuki. When you're strong enough. when we're strong enough, we can all fly away to any place we want to go."  
  
This child needs to go to a place where he can breathe. He needs to fly away to that place before the intensity of his eyes fade, before the rest of his body weakens with his lungs, before his spirit is broken and be reduced to nothing more but a tamed beautiful bird sitting contentedly in its protective cage.  
  
"Until then, we'll have to endure it and help each other."  
  
  
  
End of 1st Perspective  
  
  
  
Ina-chan's squawk:  
  
AAAAAND this marks the end of the first chapter of my first "Fruits Basket" fanfic. Heh-heh. Ina-chan was the self-proclaimed "Queen of Angst" of Jonny Quest fanfics. How am I doing with Furuba? ^_^. This particular writing style is actually something that I have been playing around with for the past two years. I started it in JQ, and for some strange reason I can't seem to shake it off! I dunno. I just fell in love doing slice of life/ various perception vignettes. As you have guessed by now, this fic will focus on one particular incident in the manga. that incident with Yuki when he was seven-years-old. It's also going to be a trilogy (I like groups of 3's for some strange reason.) and the other two perspectives will be. well, you'll find out when I post it. ^_^. Comments, criticisms, bricks. you know where to send them!  
  
Ja!  
  
Ina-chan 


	2. The Guardian Witness

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket belongs to Takaya Natsuki-sensei and Hana to Yume comics. This fic is done only for the glorification of Furuba! Random spoilers for Fruits Basket manga beware! I'm basing this fic on the manga, so there will be some time inconsistencies in according to the anime. I'll explain in my notes at the end of the fic.  
  
  
  
December 26, 2001  
  
Defying Heaven  
  
2nd Perception: The Guardian Witness  
  
By Ina-chan  
  
It was said that people leave imprints of themselves in objects. And traces of that person's story. that person's secrets. linger on and on, even after death. If that is so, then if the great hallway of the Souma Main House could talk, it would have been a writer's dream. For these walls have witnessed hundreds of years worth of history. and secrets. Specifically secrets that people would normally prefer not to be a part of.  
  
When he was a child, Shigure wanted nothing else but to sniff and dig up these dark secrets to sustain his unnatural curious appetite for knowledge. Until it came to the point when he found himself in the role of a main player, who created more of those secrets. With all honesty, he wasn't really sure if he wanted to be proud or be ashamed of the things that he knew. But he was only sure of one thing. He wanted to be a part of it. It made life more interesting.  
  
Like today.  
  
The faltering of the small footsteps echoing behind him broke his line of thought. The young man turned around to find a small pale frightened face looking back at him, silently begging him not to lead him to face the wrath of God.  
  
"Yuki." Shigure sighed  
  
"GURE-SAAAN~~~!!" A cheerful voice suddenly called out, and a beautiful silver-haired figure immediately came rushing after him from the end of the hallway, "Ya! There you are! You and Tori-san promised to meet me after school. Neither of you showed, so I thought I'd come to pick you." Ayame's voice trailed to silence when his cousin didn't return his jovial greeting  
  
"Sorry, Aya. I'm afraid I have to cancel today. I don't think Ha-san can come either. Sorry," Shigure replied, before sweeping his gaze to the direction of the quiet smaller figure behind him, "Come along, Yuki."  
  
Perhaps in an act of desperation, the little boy turned and reached out to the new comer, seeking for protection, "Ni-san."  
  
The silver-haired young man shrank away instinctively from the small hand reaching out for him, as if protecting himself from being scalded by the child's touch. He then turned to his cousin and forced out a disappointed sigh before walking away, "Ahh ma! Now I have to find other means to have fun all by myself. How troublesome. Ya Gure-san! I'll see you later."  
  
The little boy bowed his head tried to stifle a sob rising painfully from his throat, as his last hope for a protector rounded the corner and disappeared from sight.  
  
"Yuki," Shigure called out again, "It'll be worse if we keep Akito waiting."  
  
Motivated by a greater fear, the little boy immediately complied and walked beside his older cousin. He would never admit it out loud, but this was one task that Shigure was reluctant to do. It was too much like leading a lamb to be slaughtered. Personal feelings and opinions, however, mean nothing compared duty and loyalty. Furthermore, he will never let such sentiments to prevent him from attaining a goal that he promised himself. Yes. even if it meant sacrificing a lamb to be slaughtered.  
  
He felt a pair of small hands suddenly clutch his leg tightly as they stopped in front of a door at the end of the great hall. He put a protective hand on top of the little boy's head before reaching out to open the sliding door with his other hand.  
  
  
  
The light of the afternoon seeped through the window and flooded the room with ethereal brightness. They found him sitting on a chair and leaning idly by the window. One relaxed arm hanging outside, the other supporting his chin. He didn't even bother to acknowledge his two visitors. Shigure simply stood quietly by the door in venerated silence. His charge continued to limit his movements and prevented him from showing proper respect through action. He let the silence linger a few more moments before attempting to speak, "Akito, I brou-"  
  
"It's late," Akito's soft voice interrupted quietly  
  
"I'm sorry, we-" Shigure began again  
  
"I let it out this morning and it still hasn't returned," Akito continued, as if he didn't hear Shigure speak, "Do you think it's all right?"  
  
"Eh?" Shigure blinked in puzzlement before realizing what the Head of the House was referring, "Ah. I'm sure it will come back anytime now. You shouldn't worry too much about it."  
  
"You're right. I shouldn't worry. Eventually, it will come back to me. It always comes back." Akito agreed as he shifted to finally face the two newcomers, an unreadable smile lining his serene face, "All of them."  
  
Shigure kept an impassive expression as he gently nudged the frightened little boy hiding behind him to move forward. The child only dug his fingers painfully deeper into his cousin's flesh and started to shiver violently.  
  
"Come here."  
  
As if controlled by invisible strings, the child reluctantly released his death grip and slowly walked closer to face God's wrath.  
  
"Why did you do that?"  
  
The little boy's lips moved to give a reply, but his voice failed him.  
  
"Because of what you did, we will need to ask Hattori to do something awful to those poor children. Because of what you did, Hattori will have to erase their memories. all because of you."  
  
"Wh-why." The little boy finally managed to force his voice out, ". is it. am I so abnormal that we have to hide it so much?"  
  
Akito stood up and slowly walked in front of the younger boy and towered over him. "Yes. You're abnormal. A human who turns into a mouse? Of course, its abnormal." The Head of the House lightly cupped the younger boy's chin and gently forced the little boy to look up and face him, "If normal people find out, they will be disgusted. They will be sickened. That's why it's better to stay away." The older boy leaned down to meet the younger child's height and gave him a re-assuring smile, "But don't worry. Everything will be okay. I'll always protect you from them."  
  
"But." The protesting word burst from his mouth before he could stop it. Realizing his mistake, Yuki meekly lowered his eyes and bit his lip.  
  
"'But' what?" Akito prodded, his soft voice hardening and all traces of gentleness fading from his features.  
  
"Th-they're. my. my. friends."Yuki forced himself to continue hesitantly  
  
"Yuki. sweet gentle Yuki," The Head of the House slowly stood up straight and lightly ran his fingers through the little boy's hair, "I'm afraid that I have to remind you again of WHAT you are." The little boy let out a shriek of pain as the older Souma's fingers suddenly curled into a tight grip.  
  
"AKITO!" Shigure called out in alarm as he helplessly watched the young Head of the House drag the younger boy out of the room and to the dark Great Hall by the hair  
  
"Shigure!" Yuki wailed in pain, as he let one desperate arm to flail out and unsuccessfully reach for him  
  
"AKITO, WHERE ARE YOU TAKING HIM!?" Shigure called out again, as he walked briskly behind them.  
  
The young man already knew where the Head of the House was going. Another room. a small dank room with stale air, with no light and with no windows. It's walls kept secrets as well.  
  
"NO! NO! PLEASE AKITO!" The little boy screamed when the familiar door at the end of that particular hall came in sight, "I'M SORRY! I'LL BE GOOD! I WON'T DO IT AGAIN! I PROMISE! PLEASE! DON'T LOCK ME ALONE IN THERE AGAIN! PLEEEEEEASE!!!!"  
  
Without another word, the Head of the House tossed the younger boy into the pitch black room, slid the door shut, and locked it. He stood there listening to the younger boy scream and bang the door with his hands with an unemotional expression on his face until the little boy's wails died down to silent sobs.  
  
"You're so pathetic," Akito stated blandly through the door, "Being afraid of the dark. Mice like the dark, and that's what you are. No matter how hard you try."  
  
"YOU'LL."  
  
".NEVER."  
  
".CHANGE."  
  
".WHAT..."  
  
".YOU..."  
  
".ARE."  
  
Despite of himself, Shigure ground his teeth and clenched his hands in indignant anger. Then he slowly forced himself to relax as the mantra of duty, loyalty, and his dream chanted quietly in his mind. That is, until his ears picked a subtle change in pattern in the sobbing of the little boy being punished at the other side of the door, "Akito, let him out."  
  
The Head of the House didn't make any hints of acknowledging his words.  
  
"Akito, this is an emergency, he's having an asthma attack."  
  
The boy simply stood there, staring at the door impassively.  
  
"IF WE DON'T GET HIM OUT, HE COULD DIE!!"  
  
A small smile made its way into the Head of the House's lips, "Then it's for the best."  
  
Shigure's eyes widened in horror as he stared at the younger boy in disbelief.  
  
"A person who can't accept who or what he really is will only face inevitable death when left alone in the cruelties of the world. If he dies now, then it will be more merciful. It's the least that I can do for him." Akito soft voice rang clearly through the quiet halls, as he slowly turned to face the young man and gave him a serene smile, "Ne?"  
  
The young man swore under his breath and immediately spun around and raced down the great hall, his footsteps thundering loudly.  
  
"Shigure!" Ayame called out in alarm as the his cousin rounded the corner that he was hiding in  
  
Shigure stopped and grabbed the silver-haired young man's shoulder urgently, "Run and get Uncle. Tell him to go to Yuki right away. I'll get Hattori so we can get Akito away from the door!"  
  
An uncharacteristic look of anger flashed on Ayame's face, before turning on his heels and obeying his cousin's order.  
  
In the brightly lit room, a little bird flew through a window and perched itself on top of its cage. It cocked its head to the side, as if puzzled to find the room empty. Oblivious to the chaos happening around it, it proceeded to groom its feathers and waited for its master.  
  
  
  
End of 2nd Perception  
  
  
  
Ina-chan's squawk:  
  
HAAAAAA! Two down, one to go! I'll finish the last part tonight and hopefully post it by tomorrow. For now. I'M GOING SHOPPING! ^_^. Happy Boxing Day! ^_^.  
  
Usual stuff. Comments, criticisms, bricks. you know where to send them!  
  
Ja!  
  
Ina-chan 


	3. Crucial Resolve

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket belongs to Takaya Natsuki-sensei and Hana to Yume comics. This fic is done only for the glorification of Furuba! Random spoilers for Fruits Basket manga beware! I'm basing this fic on the manga, so there will be some time inconsistencies in according to the anime. I'll explain in my notes at the end of the fic.  
  
  
  
December 27, 2001  
  
Defying Heaven  
  
3rd Perception: Crucial Resolve  
  
By Ina-chan  
  
The light of the morning sunshine smiled generously over the chilly day. A child sat by a window, letting its warm breath stroke and envelop him. This was one of his few pleasures in life, sitting and basking under the light of the sun from this quiet spot of the house. Being under the warm bright light of the sun seemed to energize him, most especially during this time of the year.  
  
. most especially after a day like yesterday.  
  
The boy shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts from remembering the events that happened the day before. Instead, he focused on what was going to happen on the days ahead. New Year's was just around the corner. In his family, celebrating the New Year has always been the most important event of the year. Soumas from all over the country, even those who lived abroad, most whom he only saw during New Year's, have already started to arrive to the Main House.  
  
This was actually one of the reasons he retreated to this quiet isolated spot. Some of his relatives, his cousins in particular, can be too. 'energetic'. In fact, he just barely escaped a hyper-talkative hyperactive rabbit a few moments a go. Being around a lot of people had always taken a lot from him. Being around hyper-energetic perpetually moving balls of energy sapped his strength right away.  
  
And he still hasn't fully recovered from yesterday.  
  
The child ground his teeth in frustration. No matter how hard he tried to avoid it, his mind keeps on going back to what happened the day before. to what was said the day before. He should be used to it by now. Akito had been tormenting him for as long as he could remember. He tried so many times to figure out why Akito hates him so much. What was it that he had done, for Akito to treat him the way that he did? He never did come up with an answer. So his logic simply concluded that, Akito was simply mean.  
  
["You're so pathetic."]  
  
Deep in his heart, he knew he wasn't. But sitting here now, he definitely felt that he was. He had lost count of all the times he wished he had done something else when he faced Akito. He lost count of all his daydreams of how he would stop Akito from pushing him around and locking him in that room. But somehow, whenever he actually sees Akito.  
  
["Being afraid of the dark."]  
  
The warmth of the sun suddenly didn't feel adequate enough to warm the air anymore. The boy clutched the hem of his yukata and pulled the material tighter around him. It wasn't really that he was afraid of the dark. He only feared that one particular lightless, windowless, suffocating dark room. Everything about that dark room reminded him of Akito. everything about Akito reminded him of that dark room, forming an irrational vicious cycle of fear that he simply could not break away from.  
  
["Mice like the dark, and that's what you are."]  
  
"But I don't, I'm not," The boy whispered to no one in particular as he hugged his knees and tried to curl into a tiny tight ball, "I'm not a mouse. I'm not a mouse. I'm a person. I'm Yuki. I'm Yuki."  
  
["You're abnormal"]  
  
"I didn't ask to be born this way," The boy started to rock back and forth and covered his ears with his hands, attempting to block his thoughts  
  
["No matter how hard you try. YOU CAN NEVER CHANGE WHAT YOU ARE."]  
  
/SHUT UP!/ The child mouthed in a silent scream  
  
"I HATE YOU!"  
  
The child opened his eyes, startled at the sudden cry behind him.  
  
"I'M A LAUGHINGSTOCK BECAUSE OF YOU!! YOU FILTHY COWARD, IT'S YOUR FAULT, IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!! THAT'S WHY EVERYONE SAYS THAT I'M. STUPID.!!"  
  
The boy straightened up from his curled position. He felt the corner of his lip twitch involuntarily in irritation. It would seem that yet another person hated him as well. Not because he did anything wrong, but simply because he's the mouse from a stupid folklore. ".is that so?" He paused, carefully thinking of the right words to say, "Are YOU like that?" He slowly turned his head to make sure his voice was heard clearly, ".truly stupid?"  
  
Silence.  
  
"No. No, I'm not. I'm. not stupid. not stupid."  
  
/That's right./  
  
Despite of himself, a small smile found its way on the boy's lips.  
  
/I'm not the only one who feels that way. Though my body turns into a mouse, I'm not the manipulative dirty heartless mouse of the Jyunishi.  
  
No matter what Akito says.  
  
.no matter how hard ANYONE tries.  
  
They can't change WHO I am.  
  
I'm a person.  
  
I'm Yuki./  
  
  
  
"Yes."  
  
The boy finally turned around to completely face his accuser, his intense purple eyes, once again clear.  
  
"I understand."  
  
  
  
End of 3rd Perception  
  
End of "Defying Heaven"  
  
Ina-chan's squawk:  
  
WAAAAAI! I finally finished it! My FIRST "Fruits Basket" fic! ^_^. Haaaaah! Well, until inspiration hits me once again (heh-heh. I'm one of those types of people who needs to be inspired to write a fic.), looks like I will be concentrating on finishing up the rest of volume 1. Hmmm. I dunno if I can finish it, but there's still three more days until the New Year and one more day before I go back to work! GANBARU! Ina-chan FIGHT-O! ^_^.  
  
Thanks for reading this fic and all your wonderful support (along with the FURUBA Project). Uhmm. just a little reminder though... My sister, Jessi- shcn, is my partner-in-crime with this project. And the message board is actually her baby. So if anyone is interested with the FURUBA Message Board moderator or the RPG thingy she's starting. please feel free to contact her. I'm not sure what e-mail addy she's using, but I think she already put up her address in the website.  
  
Okay. Usual stuff with the. Comments, criticisms, bricks. you know where to send them!  
  
Ja!  
  
Ina-chan 


End file.
